RWD? FWD? AWD? What's best in snow, by how much?

A Porsche 911 C2S is going to destroy almost all FWD cars in snow traction.
I'm not really sure what that is, I tried googling but I'm not sure what the CS2 option is. I saw that the 911 can be had in RWD or AWD; I know Porsche should have 50-50 weight distribution, so having the engine over the drive wheels is kinda moot of which end is being driven.

Do these 911's have a "snow" traction mode? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but to me, it seems like the vehicle I'd never take out in the snow... toss in AWD and decent tires, and sure, it probably is a beast in snow, but still:

I don't doubt these have good electronics to tame the 300+ hp that these things have, but, I can crawl under at least one of my FWD's and do work, no jacking necessary. Can you do that on an 911? If not, high ending is going to be an issue, and quickly, regardless of tire selection.

Let's not even talk about how much fun it is to try to peer over and around snow banks while in low slung vehicles. :) That's not a traction issue, but it's fun all the same.
 
Weight distribution and tires are obviously among the most important. I still believe that a rear wheel drive with most of the weight up front is worse than FWD, with the same tires.

Put snow tires on a FWD car and on a RWD Camaro the FWD car will outperform it.
 
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Weight distribution and tires are obviously among the most important. I still believe that a rear wheel drive with most of the weight up front is worse than FWD, with the same tires.

Put snow tires on a FWD car and on a RWD Camaro the FWD car will outperform it.
Especially common on a CUV - with a bit of ground clearance that a pony car never has …
 
Weight distribution and tires are obviously among the most important. I still believe that a rear wheel drive with most of the weight up front is worse than FWD, with the same tires.

Put snow tires on a FWD car and on a RWD Camaro the FWD car will outperform it.
It will.
But that video is far from it. People in areas like that do not think of snow when buying tires.
I witnessed people using Corvette C7 up Loveland Pass in WET!!!! It is just above 32, that cold asphalt, before it freezes, and Michelin Cup2 tires on the vehicle :)
 
Weight distribution and tires are obviously among the most important. I still believe that a rear wheel drive with most of the weight up front is worse than FWD, with the same tires.

Put snow tires on a FWD car and on a RWD Camaro the FWD car will outperform it.
Maybe with a Camaro but my work Express vans would go where my late model Malibu's would not. Especially uphill. Flat land FWD with snows can get by but put some uphill action in the equation and ''Fuggeataboutit''. Studded snows are a must on my FWD Malibu's. Studded snow tires are the only tire that makes my FWD drivable in snow up here in NW NJ, illegal or not here in the land of paper straws.
My '68 GTO was not too bad with snow tires, those polyglass Goodyears would spin by just putting it into drive.
 
I recently was climbing an icy hill a VT and some locals with a 90s MB RWD another rusty 10yesr old+ Mazda 3 and another were smart enough to not stop when a truck start spinning tires. They passed “illegally” but slowly to not lose momentum and get by and over hill.

The Sienna AWD in front of me stopped with winter tires and ski box was stuck. It seemed to move better when the bigger kids(5) all jumped out and then pushed to get momentum. My Pilot did some spinning but managed with some CrossClimate2 and VTM lock enabled.

The first two cars were better because of experienced drivers .
 
I recently was climbing an icy hill a VT and some locals with a 90s MB RWD another rusty 10yesr old+ Mazda 3 and another were smart enough to not stop when a truck start spinning tires. They passed “illegally” but slowly to not lose momentum and get by and over hill.

The Sienna AWD in front of me stopped with winter tires and ski box was stuck. It seemed to move better when the bigger kids(5) all jumped out and then pushed to get momentum. My Pilot did some spinning but managed with some CrossClimate2 and VTM lock enabled.

The first two cars were better because of experienced drivers .
I had Sienna AWD with snow tires.
It is a good vehicle in the snow. Not VW or BMW, but a heavy front will do its thing. One thing about Toyota is that TC and ESP are super aggressive, and if stuck, one has to turn off TC to get out. Their ESP is designed so aggressively, that I think it is actually a danger for people who do know how to drive in snow, as it does not allow absolutely any slide. Having more people in the vehicle should actually help the vehicle. So, I have no idea what that person was doing.
 
One thing about Toyota is that TC and ESP are super aggressive
My Tundra probably put it to shame, not sure as I never drove a Sienna, but, when I drove my Tundra in the snow, first thing I would do is turn that stuff off. Then I could drive in RWD, otherwise, it really had to be in 4WD or it was hopeless.

Unfortunately Toyota made disabling some stupid insane method and so I could not engage/disengage on the fly. I only "needed" it off at low speeds, didn't care once moving. Forgot to turn on in one storm and took an intersection sideways by accident, I wasn't trying to do that intentionally, oops. Light in the rear RWD can be "challenging" in snow.

My two Camry's with TC & VSC seemed to be fine though. For all I know they may have super aggressive TC/VSC too, but, as sedans they apparently have that natural advantage. Low power, halfway decent tires and drivers not pushing it, seems ok.
 
My Tundra probably put it to shame, not sure as I never drove a Sienna, but, when I drove my Tundra in the snow, first thing I would do is turn that stuff off. Then I could drive in RWD, otherwise, it really had to be in 4WD or it was hopeless.

Unfortunately Toyota made disabling some stupid insane method and so I could not engage/disengage on the fly. I only "needed" it off at low speeds, didn't care once moving. Forgot to turn on in one storm and took an intersection sideways by accident, I wasn't trying to do that intentionally, oops. Light in the rear RWD can be "challenging" in snow.

My two Camry's with TC & VSC seemed to be fine though. For all I know they may have super aggressive TC/VSC too, but, as sedans they apparently have that natural advantage. Low power, halfway decent tires and drivers not pushing it, seems ok.
I don’t think ESP is actually possible to disable completely. It is absolutely insane.
 
Just bought my first awd 3 series after 25 years of rwd in Minnesota. It’s nice not getting stuck in deep snow and on the steep approach to the garage. Other than that, I STRONGLY prefer rwd.
the breakaway is much more predictable, there’s zero torque steer, and sliding around is very fun.
Awd feels so utilitarian. But it is nice to be able to back into the garage.
 
I don’t think ESP is actually possible to disable completely. It is absolutely insane.
in my '03 Sequoia if you unplugged the brake fluid level sensor (while car was running) and plugged back in, it would set trouble code disabling the ESC/TRAC to "save" the fluid for the actual brakes. You could also just tap in a switch in case it was on the fly like bad washboard roads (or so I heard :whistle: :unsure:). It would reset on next key start.

It was a tough decision on snowy highways. I wanted the ESC to help with just in case turns, avoidance etc. BUT if you hit a plowed speed bump of snow or other driving straight it would trigger the ESC and kill throttle. I almost got rear ended a couple times that way. Drivers behind not expecting you to just let off the gas at 50-60 mph on a 3 lane pretty clear highway and not be able to accelerate again for many seconds.
 
in my '03 Sequoia if you unplugged the brake fluid level sensor (while car was running) and plugged back in, it would set trouble code disabling the ESC/TRAC to "save" the fluid for the actual brakes. You could also just tap in a switch in case it was on the fly like bad washboard roads (or so I heard :whistle: :unsure:). It would reset on next key start.

It was a tough decision on snowy highways. I wanted the ESC to help with just in case turns, avoidance etc. BUT if you hit a plowed speed bump of snow or other driving straight it would trigger the ESC and kill throttle. I almost got rear ended a couple times that way. Drivers behind not expecting you to just let off the gas at 50-60 mph on a 3 lane pretty clear highway and not be able to accelerate again for many seconds.
Lol. There are always “ways” to bypass it.
Problem is also that ut is too intrusive. On my VW Tiguan if you disable TC, but not ESP, it is actually OK. It will react, but you really need to push it.
BMW on other hand, allows you A LOT of flexibility. And when you disable it, you REALLY disable it.
 
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